Lessons Learned
by Gerec
Summary: The end of the world comes in a burst of light. They've run out of time. From DOFP: Future!Erik and Charles' last moments in the temple. M/M - Cherik


**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Future!Charles and Erik's last moments in the temple. I have a lot of feels about this scene (possibly more even than the plane scenes); this is the sum of all those emotional highs and lows.

* * *

The end of the world comes in a burst of light.

They've run out of time.

_xxx_

_Will this work, Charles?_

_Yes, I have faith in him._

_Faith…you always did have enough for all of us._

_Not always, Erik. But I do here, in this moment. With you._

_Oh Charles…Charles, what sentimental old fools we've become._

_xxx_

There are things the others had to get used to over the past few years, things they've come to terms with as undeniable truth.

Professor X is alive.

Magneto is now fighting on their side.

There is no way they can win this war.

_xxx_

It's been a long time since Erik last wore the helmet, a relic of years gone by that he can't quite bring himself to miss. Charles' rebirth and the discovery of the Sentinel Program necessitated the heretofore elusive reconciliation between the two men; entire lives spent in opposition that wasted precious time and energy and lives on the wrong enemy.

_We're here now,_ Charles says, _we didn't know._

_We should have known,_ is his response, less cutting than it should have been - would have been - before. _We were supposed to know. It was our job to protect them._

_Yes, Darling, it was. It is. And we will continue to do so for as long as we can._

___xxx_

They live mostly in each other's minds now, talking out loud reserved mostly for conversations of necessity with Wolverine or Storm. He's never cared to cultivate relationships with the ones who followed him and he's not going to start now, with people who merely tolerate his presence for Charles' sake. He also stopped caring long ago what others thought of him and his strange friendship with Charles, decades of love and pain and joy and betrayal too complicated to put into mere words. And it no longer matters anyway, the four of them sullen and exhausted as they spend all their days planning.

Running.

Hiding.

He contributes sparingly as they outline their plan for the assembled mutants, the certainty in their words masking their own doubts - doubts they see and feel through their connection. Charles is a master though, years as the sage and wise Professor X easily fooling the others as he's never been able to fool Erik.

_It won't be enough,_ he says as they watch Logan lay himself down on the stone slab in front of the Pryde girl. _You were in such a bad place then and I…you should have told him to leave me in prison. My feelings for you have never been enough to guarantee my cooperation._

_I need you,_ is Charles' simple answer, warm with assurances that Erik can't accept. _I needed you then, though I didn't realize it myself. Even in my darkest hours when I hated you and felt nothing but pain and anger, a small part of me still hoped that you would come back._

_I never dared to hope, Charles,_ he admits, nothing but truth between them as it has always been. _I despaired – for our friendship, for what we had those brief weeks and months so long ago. But I've never been able to hope._

_And yet…here we are, old friend._

___xxx_

To say it goes poorly is an understatement. Erik can hardly claim to be surprised.

Though for the first time in his life, he wishes (oh how he wishes) that his younger self could have trusted in Charles. Trusted him as much as he's always loved him.

It's a lesson learned much too late in this lifetime.

_xxx_

With their minds tethered and open Erik bears silent witness to the conversation between the two versions of his Charles, linked as they are through time and the Wolverine's consciousness.

He watches, heartbroken as young Charles struggles under the weight of yet more betrayal, meted out by his own younger self.

_Tell him, Charles,_ he pleads, _show him the future. Our future. Show him…everything. How much I love you, have always loved you. Show him that we found a way._

_I will, Erik,_ Charles answers. _He should know this at least, if he…_

_If he doesn't stop her. If he fails._

___xxx_

They see them coming through Warpath's eyes, and Erik does not hesitate to join the battle. They will fight but it will not be enough and he and Charles both know it's the end. All of their combined powers won't stop the Sentinels and they will surely all die here, if the Wolverine doesn't accomplish his mission.

It is not his own pain but Charles' that he feels when he pulls the metal shrapnel from his body. Charles who is screaming silently in their heads as he bleeds. Charles who is shocked and yet not…that Erik is dying. Pain, despair and more pain…

_Did it feel like this,_ he asks, as he retreats inside the temple, each step slow and his breathing stilted. _When you died, Charles? Were you at peace with it as I am now? And do you now rage against the inevitable, as I once did when I watched you die with my own eyes?_

_Erik._ The voice is an ocean of sorrow and regret. _Erik…my love._

"All those years spent fighting each other, Charles." _This is what I truly wanted. To protect you. And the others._

_I know, Erik. I've always known._

"To have a precious few of them back." _Is more than I'd dared to hope for, all these long years. More than I deserved._

_More than we both deserved, after the mess we've made of things,_ Charles says as he reaches for Erik's hand. _But I'm grateful nonetheless, to have you here, by my side._

They bear witness together as the others die one by one, each death another condemnation of the path they've taken together and apart. Every scream is a crushing blow; every gasp a knife through their own hearts.

When they break through the doors and Bobby's screams fill the room, Erik squeezes Charles' hand and closes his eyes.

_Goodbye Charles,_ is the only thing he says. There are no more words left. No more time.

The flash of light is blinding for the briefest of moments, before it goes completely dark.

_xxx_

He's surrounded by water, deep and quiet.

Charles' arms around him, dragging him close. He doesn't struggle.

The voice is everywhere, so warm, so familiar.

_You're not alone, Erik. You're not alone._

Erik smiles.


End file.
